Up to four in 10 businesses have vacancies, with the figure for the hotel and catering trade rising to six in 10, the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) said yesterday.

The same number of businesses have also found it has taken longer than two months to fill a vacancy over the past year, according to a survey commissioned by CCI.

The body is calling for employment visas to be granted to non-EU nationals and for greater promotion of job opportunities to take place among the Irish abroad. Improved childcare measures are also considered important.

Labour Force 1999 found that 41 per cent of businesses are paying overtime to existing staff, while 16 per cent have had to restrict the development of further business opportunities due to staff shortages.

Smaller companies also feel at a disadvantage, believing that they cannot compete with the wages, perks and conditions being offered by large companies, the survey found.

Around 80 per cent of businesses say the lack of adequate childcare is preventing more women from entering the labour market.

The survey also found that the shortages are not just confined to skilled staff, with four in 10 vacancies occurring in the unskilled sector.

According to Mr Philip O'Reilly, president of the CCI, the survey highlights the scale of the labour force shortage and the pressure this is placing on business, particularly small and medium sized companies. He has called for the speeding up of the processing time for initial and renewal employment visas, and for some childcare measures that would facilitate access to education, training and employment for parents.

He also pointed out that the survey reinforces evidence of the low level of resources allocated to company training. Almost two-thirds of businesses employing less than 50 people have no staff training budget at all.